Moe says COVID vaccination booking system to launch Thursday

Saskatchewan is set to launch an online and phone booking system for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Speaking virtually to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe said the system will start up Thursday.

“We’re going to go to a self-booking system, either online or a toll-free number that will be available in the days ahead,” Moe told reporters.

Health Minister Paul Merriman and Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone are to hold a media conference Wednesday at 3 p.m., to provide more details. The media conference can be heard live here.

Moe told delegates at the convention that Saskatchewan is in the final stretch of the pandemic.

“The next couple of months are very, very exciting,” Moe said. “I think they’ll happen quick enough that we won’t have to have those discussions around, ‘If you’re vaccinated, you can go do this. If you’re not vaccinated, you’re not be able to do that.’ ”

With a larger supply of vaccines set to arrive, the province plans to start immunizing members of the general public in early April, beginning with people aged 60 to 69.

Residents 70 and older are currently eligible for a shot, but officials say some who are 60 to 64 living in Regina will soon have access to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan expanded the limit on indoor private gatherings to 10 people. It also plans to expand capacity for worship services on March 19, partly because Moe says there is more vaccine available to protect older residents.

— With files from The Canadian Press